One Day
by ayrabelle
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is one day for your life to change.


Scorpius heard an owl flying toward his window and looked out, biting back a curse when he saw whose owl it was. His grandfather was writing him again. Ever since he had turned seventeen the previous November, Grandfather Malfoy had written him weekly. Scorpius hadn't responded to a single letter, but it was now February and here was Ignotus on his weekly journey. While each letter varied in wording, the message was always the same. Ignotus dropped off the letter and flew away, accustomed to Scorpius's lack of response. He opened it cautiously; wary of curses or anything that might be waiting for him inside.

_Scorpius,  
You are seventeen now, I have given you more than enough time. It is time you stopped this silly dream of yours and joined the family business. Your father left, so it is up to you to carry on the Malfoy name. I have secured a position for you this summer, a position that will lead to your full-time job at Malfoy Enterprises after you are done with your schooling.  
I await your response.  
Lucius Malfoy_

Scorpius didn't bite back the cure this time, as he finished reading he swore loudly. His grandfather simply refused to accept that Scorpius didn't want to join Malfoy Enterprises – he wanted to be a Healer. His grandfather said that wasn't what he was born for, that Scorpius _needed_ to take his place as head of Malfoy Enterprises. Scorpius knew better though, he knew that his grandfather didn't approve of the changes that were happening in the Malfoy family – how Scorpius's father worked at the Ministry instead of the family company, the move from Malfoy Manor to a simple home in Godric's Hollow, Scorpius's close friendships with such ilk as Potters, Weasleys, and Gryffindors. Scorpius figured that his grandfather wanted to use this 'summer position' at Malfoy Enterprises to brainwash Scorpius back into the Malfoy Way.

Caught up in thoughts like this, Scorpius didn't realise what time it was until Jason Nott stuck his head into the doorway.

'Scorpius, it's time for lunch – you hungry?'

Casually folding the letter and placing it in his pocket so as not to draw attention to it, Scorpius stuck a smile on his face and followed his best mate down to the Great Hall.

Through lunch with his friends, Scorpius did his best to act normal and ignore the knowing looks Samantha Flint gave him. She had cornered him one day the previous year and informed him that he fancied Rose Weasley. He responded that he knew that fact (he'd fancied her for a while, actually) and that Samantha fancied Aiden Finnegan. She couldn't deny that one, but was too shy to approach the Gryffindor and therefore contented herself with giving looks to Scorpius that she probably thought were subtle but often had even Jason looking at her curiously.

Today, however, Samantha only knew half of Scorpius's secret, so her looks didn't cause him as much discomfort as they usually did. On the other hand, Jason didn't know about his feelings for Rose but he knew Scorpius well enough to tell that something was wrong. When Samantha left lunch to visit with some of her other friends, Jason turned to him.

'Are you alright? You look worried about something.'

Scorpius didn't want to drag Jason into his twisted family politics, but Jason had been his best mate since they were young and genuinely cared.

'Not here,' Scorpius said, standing to walk back to the common room. Jason understood and rose to walk back with him.

Once they were out of anyone's earshot, Jason spoke first. 'Did your grandfather's weekly letter arrive?'

Scorpius nodded. 'He didn't even pretend to approve of me being a Healer this time, he said it was a silly dream and he has a spot at Malfoy Enterprises for me for the summer.'

Jason shook his head. 'Have you gotten a response from Mrs Corner yet?'

'Not yet,' Scorpius replied. One of his Ravenclaw friends, Jordan Corner, had a mum who was a Healer at St Mungo's. Scorpius had written her to see if there was any kind of summer work that he could do as a trainee to learn what being a Healer was like.

'Well,' Jason continued his train of thought, 'if there is something you can do at St Mungo's then you can write your grandfather and tell him the truth – you've already got a place to work for the summer.'

Scorpius grinned. 'I like the way you think, Jason.' The duo talked the rest of the way back to the Slytherin common room, Scorpius having to duck into the entrance. Ever since he had been bitten by a werewolf his first year, Scorpius had been taller than everyone in his year. Some of the now-sixth years had recently closed the gap, but he still stood head and shoulders over most of his friends.

Scorpius claimed his favourite chair by the fire to work on his homework for the afternoon. He slogged through his Charms work with help from Samantha, and she took advantage of the situation.

'When are you going to tell her how you feel?' she asked bluntly, assuming Scorpius knew to whom she was referring to. He did, of course.

'When you tell Aiden how you feel,' was Scorpius's tight response. He didn't want Samantha to go off and tell Rose about everything, so he responded with the compromise, knowing full well that it would take some time for Samantha to fulfill her side of the bargain. Other than the homework, it was a generally lazy Saturday afternoon. He was walking to dinner with Samantha and Jason when his second owl delivery of the day arrived. This time it was his owl, back with Mrs Corner's response.

'Go ahead without me,' he waved his friends on and opened the letter as he stole into the library to sit down and read.

_Scorpius,  
Good afternoon! I am doing well, thank you for asking. How are you?  
St Mungo's does indeed have a volunteer trainee position for students looking to become Healers. I have submitted your name and enclosed a few forms for you to fill out. Please send them back to me so I can turn them in for you.  
I'm glad that you are considering becoming a Healer. We haven't had many fresh faces recently and can always use more help. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  
I look forward to seeing you over the summer.  
Lisa Corner_

Scorpius couldn't help the grin forming on his face – he was going to become a Healer! He quickly borrowed a quill from a nearby empty table and had completely filled out one of the three forms, the novelty not yet worn off. Suddenly, Scorpius readjusted his sitting position and felt his grandfather's letter in his pocket - his lifted spirits crashing back down. His grandfather was not going to be happy when he heard. Scorpius sank back in his chair, attempting to compose a letter to his grandfather in his mind when someone approached his table. It was Rose.

'Hey!' she greeted him. 'You missed dinner, and it was your favourite, so Samantha told me to bring you some. She said you were in the library, so I placed a cover on it so that Madam Pince wouldn't be able to smell it.' She set the plate on his desk, and Scorpius was pleasantly surprised to hear that she knew his favourite meal and had thought ahead to make sure they didn't get kicked out of the library. They had been casual friends for a few years, though he hadn't suspected her of paying so much attention.

She wasn't finished speaking, though. 'Oh, and Samantha also told me to tell you that she talked to Aiden today during dinner. You should have seen it,' she elaborated. 'She walked over to our table like she didn't have a care in the world and they talked and he asked her out. They both looked so happy.'

Scorpius listened to Rose's story in surprise – he hadn't expected that Samantha would act so quickly on their earlier conversation. 'That's nice,' Scorpius said, expecting Rose to leave but wanting her to stay so he could just look at her. She was wearing her hair down today, so her face was framed by her lovely red hair. Her teeth simply shone when she smiled – he could look at them all day if it wasn't for her eyes. They were brown and always sparkled, whether she was teasing or laughing or simply talking with their group of friends.

While Scorpius was making these observations, though, Rose still hadn't left.

'Erm,' she started only slightly awkwardly. 'Samantha also said that you had something to ask me – something about Hogsmeade next weekend?'

'Did she now,' Scorpius muttered, looking down. 'Well, I dunno what she meant. Thanks for dinner, though.' He turned away, but Rose still didn't leave. Instead, she moved closer to him.

'Are you sure about that?' she asked, and Scorpius saw the hope in her eyes. He knew he shouldn't but she was standing so close and looking up at him with those beautiful eyes so he reached out to cradle her face with his hands and press his lips to hers.

His heart pounded in his ears – he was kissing Rose Weasley! But he felt her stiffen in surprise so be broke off and backed quickly away.

'Sorry,' he said addressing his desk. 'Go ahead and pretend that never happened.'

Rose surprised him again, though. She seemed to be doing a lot of that this evening. 'Why would I want to do that?'

Scorpius looked at her and explained as though it should be obvious. 'You deserve someone better than me.'

'How could someone be better for me than you are?' Rose asked, looking surprised. Scorpius was glad he wasn't the only one feeling that was this evening.

'Well for starters they wouldn't be a werewolf with a messed up family,' Scorpius replied.

'I've met your family,' Rose retorted. 'They weren't bad. Your mum was very nice, she took me and Samantha shopping, remember?'

'You haven't met my grandfather,' Scorpius replied darkly, pulling the letter out of his pocket and showing it to her. 'That's what he thinks of the fact that I want to be a Healer. I get to work at St Mungo's over the summer and I can't celebrate properly because I have to figure out a way to tell my grandfather that he won't be able to brainwash me back into his Malfoy standards.'

'You think I care about all of that?' Rose almost shouted incredulously. 'You can't help who you're related to – just look at me. I'm a Weasley and so I'm expected to always behave a certain way, but I've got Slytherin friends and I've had a crush on a Slytherin for ages now. You think my family's going to like this? You're a Malfoy. But you aren't Draco or Lucius, you're Scorpius and even though you're still a Malfoy and I'm still a Weasley, for a while now I've wanted to do this so badly,' she continued, putting the letter down and pulling Scorpius's mouth down to hers. Scorpius ran one hand through her hair while the other snaked around her waist to pull her closer. The kiss deepened and they were pressed together when someone coughed near them, causing them to spring apart.

Jason stood in there, looking between the two of them with a smirk. 'It's about time,' he said, raising an eyebrow and gesturing to Madam Pince, who was on her way over to where Scorpius and Rose stood. They quickly left the library, and Scorpius pulled Rose into the first deserted classroom he could find.

Once inside, Scorpius looked at Rose, who was grinning. 'You're sure you don't mind all of this?' he asked, waving the letter from his grandfather. When Rose nodded without the slightest hesitation, taking the letter and tossing it aside, Scorpius beamed. 'Then how would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?' he asked, taking her hand and pulling her back into his arms.

'It's about time,' she responded with a smile, rising up on her toes to kiss him again.

_Dear Grandfather,  
Thank you for your kind offer, but I am going to have to refuse. I've been offered an internship at St Mungo's and will be there all summer. It is not a 'silly dream', Grandfather – this is what I want to do. And, as you pointed out, I am seventeen and so I will decide what's best for my own life.  
By the way, did you ever hear what happened over the Christmas holiday during my first year? I got bit by a werewolf, and I'm fairly certain the Malfoy Enterprises bylaws clearly state that no 'part-human' may run the company. I suppose that means I can't do it. Oh well. The ownership shall have to stay in your capable hands.  
Rose Weasley, my girlfriend, says hello.  
-Scorpius Malfoy_


End file.
